Background Information
Edward Hopper was born in Nyack, New York on July 22, 1882 to a very prosperous dry-goods merchant. He studied illustration and painting at the New York Institute of Art and Design in New York City for ten years. Robert Henri, one of Hopper’s teachers at school, was very influential in his life and encouraged him to “make a stir in the world.” Many of Henri’s students, including Hopper, became successful artists and became known collectively as the Ashcan School of American Art. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Hopper)
Early Career
After finishing his education, Edward made four trips to Europe in hopes of studying about the emerging art scene in these countries. While many of his contemporaries irritated abstract cubist experiments, the idealism and detail that was associated with realist painters is what became a part of Edward Hopper. Some of Hopper’s early projects reflected the realist influence and had an emphasis on the color and shape of it’s’ contents. According to Boston Museum of Fine Arts curator Carol Troyen, “…his favorite thing was painting sunlight on the side of a house.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Hopper)
Although he was unsuccessful at first, Hopper’s breakthrough piece of art was The Mansard Roof, which he completed in 1923, during his first summer in Gloucester, MA. A former classmate of his, Josephine Nivison Hopper, whom later became his wife, encouraged Hopper to enter his art in the Brooklyn Museum annual watercolor show. Upon doing so his ‘breakthrough” painting was purchased for permanent display in their gallery.
Two years later, he produced the first of a series of paintings that included stark urban and rural scenes with sharp lines and large shapes. This piece, House by the Railroad, and many others, were painted with unusual lighting in order to capture a lonely mood.
Late Career
As Hopper aged, he continued to paint, alternating between his homes in New York City and Truro, Massachusetts, until his death on May 15, 1967 in his studio near Washington Square in New York City. His wife, a fellow painter, Josephine Nivision, gave his art to the Whitney museum of American Art before her death 10 months later. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Hopper)
Other Influences
Hopper had a very large influence on the art world and pop culture. With homage to his painting, Nighthawks, cartoon characters and famous pop culture icons such as James Dean and Marilyn Monroe can often be found in poster stores. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Hopper) While this particular example does not, Hopper often used his wife as the model for the female figures in his paintings. An interesting fact: the cable television channel, Turner Classic Movies, occasionally plays a series of animated clips based on Hopper's paintings, prior to airing films.
Video:
Edward Hopper: American Precisionist Painter
Background Information
Edward Hopper was born in Nyack, New York on July 22, 1882 to a very prosperous dry-goods merchant. He studied illustration and painting at the New York Institute of Art and Design in New York City for ten years. Robert Henri, one of Hopper’s teachers at school, was very influential in his life and encouraged him to “make a stir in the world.” Many of Henri’s students, including Hopper, became successful artists and became known collectively as the Ashcan School of American Art. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Hopper)
Early Career
After finishing his education, Edward made four trips to Europe in hopes of studying about the emerging art scene in these countries. While many of his contemporaries irritated abstract cubist experiments, the idealism and detail that was associated with realist painters is what became a part of Edward Hopper. Some of Hopper’s early projects reflected the realist influence and had an emphasis on the color and shape of it’s’ contents. According to Boston Museum of Fine Arts curator Carol Troyen, “…his favorite thing was painting sunlight on the side of a house.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Hopper)
Although he was unsuccessful at first, Hopper’s breakthrough piece of art was The Mansard Roof, which he completed in 1923, during his first summer in Gloucester, MA. A former classmate of his, Josephine Nivison Hopper, whom later became his wife, encouraged Hopper to enter his art in the Brooklyn Museum annual watercolor show. Upon doing so his ‘breakthrough” painting was purchased for permanent display in their gallery.
Two years later, he produced the first of a series of paintings that included stark urban and rural scenes with sharp lines and large shapes. This piece, House by the Railroad, and many others, were painted with unusual lighting in order to capture a lonely mood.
Late Career
As Hopper aged, he continued to paint, alternating between his homes in New York City and Truro, Massachusetts, until his death on May 15, 1967 in his studio near Washington Square in New York City. His wife, a fellow painter, Josephine Nivision, gave his art to the Whitney museum of American Art before her death 10 months later. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Hopper)
Other Influences
Hopper had a very large influence on the art world and pop culture. With homage to his painting, Nighthawks, cartoon characters and famous pop culture icons such as James Dean and Marilyn Monroe can often be found in poster stores. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Hopper) While this particular example does not, Hopper often used his wife as the model for the female figures in his paintings. An interesting fact: the cable television channel, Turner Classic Movies, occasionally plays a series of animated clips based on Hopper's paintings, prior to airing films.
Video:
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Works Cited:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Hopper
http://www.youtube.com
http://www.museumsyndicate.com/ images/artists/54.jpg